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Cambridge Coincidences Collection

Professor David Spiegelhalter of Cambridge University wants to know about your coincidences!

I have three siblings; a twin brother born on 9th April 1965, a sister born on 9th April 1963 and a brother born on 11th April 1961. When we were children our older brother celebrated his birthday on 9th April and it was like a second Christmas. We thought it was really strange if people didn't have the same birthday as their brothers and sisters. We felt sorry for other children and I still do really because it was great. It was only as I became a young adult that I appreciated it was an unusual situation.

This is an incredible but entirely true story of unbelievable coincidence when my wife, Ann-Marie and I were on holiday in Florida back in 1989.
Our fly-drive holiday to Florida had started badly when our hire car was broken into on only our third day there. We travelled on down to Key West on the Florida Keys and booked ourselves into a motel there.
Whilst at the motel poolside my wife overheard a couple who sounded as if they came from the north-east of England, just like her.

I was in germany for the 2006 world cup and went to the fan park with some friends in cologne. We sat down amongst several thousand fans and one friend pointed out to me we were just one row and a few yards away from an ex girlfriend of mine with whom I had had no contact for over two years. We are now happily married having tied the knot last summer

I was unmarried working in Hong Kong in 1960 at which time I was due to take my vacation leave. For some time I had arranged to travel by the then normal route to the UK, by sea via the Suez’s canal. Approaching the time I was due to leave I paid a routine visit to the travel agent. Whilst there the clerk whom I had come to know asked me if I would consider changing my route home and take another P&0 ship going by way of the Panama canal.

Just over 35 years ago when I was living in Killarney, Co Kerry, I had randomly arranged with a friend one evening to go to the movies. I can’t recall the name of the film but Edward Woodward was in the cast. On meeting up with my friend she introduced me to Michael, a young guy she’d recently become acquainted who was visiting Killarney.

My eldest son had a Year 5 teacher called Mrs G and a Year 6 teacher called Mrs R. When he went to secondary school, he was placed in 'Beaufort' house.
Around that same I time, I started working for a school with a Head teacher called Mr G and a Deputy called Mrs R. Neither were any relation to my son's 2 previous teachers.

Whilst I was on company business in Brussels in the 1990s, a German colleague of mine got talking to another German, when I joined the conversation I discovered this man had met my brother the week before in Germany at a trade show.